Ironic fundraiser planned for alcohol-free NFA post-prom party

Norwich — Karen Beasley admitted she has a hard time holding back her own smirks when she starts promoting the fundraiser planned to pay for the alcohol-free post-prom party for Norwich Free Academy seniors.

The NFA Parents Council will host a spirits tasting event at 6 p.m. on April 6 in the new Atrium at Slater Memorial Museum to raise money for the post-prom party on June 7. Big Gary's Montville Wine & Spirits will run the event. The owner is a parent of NFA students.

The event — for adults ages 21 and over only — will include food, live music and basket raffles. Tickets are $30 per person in advance, $35 at the door. Call (860) 889-8510 to order tickets, or order tickets online on the event's Facebook page.

"The kids have nothing to do with it," Beasley said. "This is the parents. It's for people 21 and up."

But she said her own daughter, a senior at NFA "finds it funny."

Beasley said she stands up at club meetings and events she attends to promote the fundraiser and always starts with: "Don't think I don't see the humor in this." The room usually breaks out laughing.

But raising money for the post-prom party — held in recent years at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base, is a serious matter. The NFA Parents' Council has held the spirits tasting event for the past few years. Last year, the event raised $600 for the alcohol-free post prom party.